Following Tuesday's House vote, a late-night Senate vote and another House vote on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers passed their long-sought overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

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The process over the past few months was swift and will give GOP lawmakers and Trump a significant legislative victory before the year is out. Members of the House and Senate packed the stairs along the White House lawn to join the the president in what he called "an amazing experience."

"I promised the American people a big, beautiful tax cut for Christmas," Trump said in a statement. "With final passage of this legislation, that is exactly what they are getting. I would like to thank the members of Congress who supported this historic bill, which represents an extraordinary victory for American families, workers, and businesses."

In an eleventh-hour hiccup Tuesday, the Senate parliamentarian found that three minor provisions violated Senate rules, forcing lawmakers to strip them out. Republicans had rammed the bill through the on Tuesday with all voting Democrats in opposition. Because of the language the Senate removed, the House has to revisit the measure Wednesday because each chamber must approve identical legislation before it can be signed into law.

The $1.5 trillion legislation delivers a major cut in the corporate rate – from 35 percent to 21 percent – eases the burden for “pass-through” businesses, provides modest cuts for the middle class and low-income families and repeals a key portion of Obamacare. It aims to simplify the tax code, with Republican leaders toting a “postcard” tax form prop throughout the process of writing and selling the bill.

Republicans and the White House are hailing the bill as the next step to boost an already humming economy, but projections say the cost will be an added $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Trump administration estimates say the cuts will more than pay themselves, however, and House Speaker Paul Ryan said the GOP is willing to take a hit on the deficit if the measure can produce greater annual growth.

Democrats and other critics of the legislation say the bill, along with the added debt, harms Americans in higher-taxed states like California and New York, where taxpayers rely on deductions for state and local taxes. The measure caps at $10,000 the amount that can be deducted for those taxes, as well as property and sales taxes. Companies will still be able to deduct their state and local taxes as normal business expenses.

It also eliminates Obamacare’s contentious individual mandate, which penalizes individuals who don’t buy healthcare. The move could upset markets and bump up premiums, though.

Several polls show a majority of the public believes the legislation favors corporations and the wealthy over supporting the middle class. The corporate rate will be permanently slashed, while the individual and family cuts expire in 2026. Lawmakers, however, seem confident they will be renewed when the time comes and the people will warm to the bill when their paychecks begin to increase early next year.

“If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work,” Senate Majority Leaders Mitch McConnell said.